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I will say that I think I strongly dislike smoked beers in general. Ballast Point makes a few of them and I universally hated them all. Maybe its just theirs since those are the only ones I've bothered to get.
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Aug 16, 2012 04:15
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I just picked up the Stone Smoked Porter and it's variants actually and plan to try them one each night. I can't wait, all sound delicious as hell.
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Aug 16, 2012 04:37
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SnowDog posted:I haven't tried theirs, but I was blown away by Stone's Smoked Porter. Haven't tried their various flavor offshoots, but the base smoked porter was one of the best porters I've had, and the smoke was a side-effect, not the main flavor (unlike, say, Sam Adams Bonfire Rauchbier, which was like "Here, have a beer that tastes like a campfire" ... a novelty but nothing I'd go back to over and over). Agreed, the Smoked Porters were actually well balanced- which given the brewery is a surprise. I thought I'd like the Vanilla alot and hate the Chipotle. I ended up finding the Vanilla far too sweet and syrupy given the base beer's sweetness, but the chipotle had a nice pleasant smokey burn to it.
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Aug 16, 2012 05:37
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Dipping my wife's oatmeal chocolate chip cookies into the vanilla version of that beer is...transcendent. Stone's porters are infinitely better as dessert ingredients than straight drankin' beers.
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Aug 16, 2012 05:45
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wattershed posted:Dipping my wife's oatmeal chocolate chip cookies into the vanilla version of that beer is...transcendent. Stone's porters are infinitely better as dessert ingredients than straight drankin' beers. I drank a Stone Smoked Porter after the Schlafly I.S., and while I can't really comment on it tonight, since I'm pretty drunk, I'll say that in the past, the Stone Smoked Porter has always been really good, and goes well with burnt ends.
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Aug 16, 2012 06:50
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Was anyone else surprised at how mild the vanilla flavor in the smoked porter was? I got much more smoke flavor than vanilla, which kind of disappointed me. I've still never tried the base beer, and I guess the name should have given me a hint that it might have more smoke flavor vs vanilla. A local brewery has Three Floyds Gumballhead on tap, I think I'm going to head there for lunch and have a pint or two... I've still never tried it. I'm so, so grateful that they've been having a lot of 3F on tap, I sure do love them.
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Aug 16, 2012 11:58
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bartolimu posted:If the brewery expands into brett/lacto/pedio beers, then yes, different yeasts do increase the risk of infection. Alex, the head brewer at Joseph James, won't even let lambics and the like inside the brewery. When a few local supporters wanted to have an evening tasting stuff at the brewery, he made them do it on the roof. That may seem kind of silly, but once you've got a single-celled organism in a building it's effectively impossible to get rid of it. This is why Jester King allegedly won't be making Black Metal anymore - their whole brewery is full of farmhouse yeast and they can't guarantee a clean fermentation with something else. I brew with Chico yeast as my main yeast. I have brewed loads with saison yeast, 5 different strains of Brett, and lacto. I have had no infections in the 3 years I have been doing it. I chalk it all up to steaming everything I use.
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Aug 16, 2012 13:23
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Uncle Jacob's Stout is a huge beer that isn't super boozy or hot, and I liked it more than the demons from Avery. Good balance between roasted malt, a little graham crackery/chocolate flavor, and soft toffee notes. Heavy body yet still silky/oily in the mouth. Oh and I wouldn't recommend downing a bottle solo  While not prominent, the alcohol totally sneaks up on you and it.. hits hard.
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Aug 16, 2012 14:40
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air- posted:Uncle Jacob's Stout is a huge beer that isn't super boozy or hot, and I liked it more than the demons from Avery. Good balance between roasted malt, a little graham crackery/chocolate flavor, and soft toffee notes. Heavy body yet still silky/oily in the mouth. Got talked into buying a bottle of this at a shop a few weeks ago... Nice to know the guy wasn't blowing smoke.
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Aug 16, 2012 15:09
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Well I mean it's Avery, did you expect it to be crud? I'm still looking for a bottle of it myself to add to my collection of Avery beers over 15% ABV! Also, how hard to Surly's Darkness to get, what should I expect to trade for it? Would a 1 for 1 trade of Firestone XIV be acceptable to offer?
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Aug 16, 2012 15:11
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Midorka posted:Also, how hard to Surly's Darkness to get, what should I expect to trade for it? Would a 1 for 1 trade of Firestone XIV be acceptable to offer? I would go more like a Parabola, Abyss; basically another "once a year big imperial stout". e: I should clarify. In other words, IMO you are giving up too much on your end of the trade. XIV seems like it'd be tougher to find. Look for another big beer that you'd get regional to you similar to how you'd have to be in the Twin Cities for Darkness day. A few years ago, I was somehow able to trade a sixer of St. Arnold Divine Reserve for it, and I felt justified by throwing in a ton of extras however. air- fucked around with this message at 15:21 on Aug 16, 2012 |
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Aug 16, 2012 15:16
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FYI: Last year's Abyss was pretty available in MN when I was up there. If the trade partner is in MN, I don't think they'd give up Darkness for that. FW stuff, though, isn't distributed there. Probably a better swap.
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Aug 16, 2012 15:52
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Whatever happened to just doing a dollar-for-dollar trade? I've always done that.
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Aug 16, 2012 16:12
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FreelanceSocialist posted:Whatever happened to just doing a dollar-for-dollar trade? I've always done that. Yeah, that's how the DR trade for Darkness worked out. I initially thought the guy was nuts, but hey $17-ish for both and he was just eager to try something out of area. Hooked him up with a bunch of other TX stuff.
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Aug 16, 2012 16:17
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Maybe I should start gouging for Alchemist and Maine Beer Co stuff...
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Aug 16, 2012 16:23
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Thanks for the suggestions! I made it to steamworks, that place was pretty awesome. Went with a sampler, the Prescribed Burn was good, but too spicy for me. The Backside Stout was pretty good. Seems like it'd be a great winter beer. It had a dark chocolate/coffee finish. Ended up getting a pitcher of the Heffe. It was awesome with the heat of the outside patio. And I did the cajun boil. Holy poo poo that's a lot of butter. lovely cell pic!  I didn't make it to the Pagosa brewing. I found the pagosa springs brew works, but my phone wasn't working and I couldn't find it  . Next time!
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Aug 16, 2012 18:28
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FreelanceSocialist posted:Maybe I should start gouging for Alchemist and Maine Beer Co stuff... I think Maine Beer Co gouges enough already, and I live about as close as you can get to the place. $ for $ makes sense, except that prices vary wildly. We get most of the Stone standards in Maine, but a six pack of their IPA is around $12.
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Aug 17, 2012 02:34
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I thought their prices were pretty reasonable, given the product they're offering. I think I paid $7 each for a bottle of Lunch and Zoe when I was last in Portland.
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Aug 17, 2012 02:47
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FreelanceSocialist posted:I thought their prices were pretty reasonable, given the product they're offering. I think I paid $7 each for a bottle of Lunch and Zoe when I was last in Portland. Got a Collaboration Time I (and Rising Tide Zephyr) from my trading friend today, but am much more excited about the Oxbow Barrel Aged Farmhouse Pale Ale- has anybody tried that one?
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Aug 17, 2012 03:08
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Midorka posted:I just picked up the Stone Smoked Porter and it's variants actually and plan to try them one each night. I can't wait, all sound delicious as hell. I enjoyed the SP when I tried a bomber about a month and a half ago...but I needed to chill it longer. Just tried the vanilla bean version tonight (see below). Just went to Pizza Port in Ocean Beach with my buddy from work since I'd never been there. Wow. Loved the beer selection - I drank a pint each of Ballast Point Dorado, Stone Smoked Porter vanilla bean and one of Pizza Port's in-house brews (Flying Hawaiian hefeweizen) and we grabbed beer buddies beforehand and split a small pepperoni pizza. loving great food and the beer selection was great of course. I felt like a kid in a candy store looking at the different beers they had on tap that I hadn't tried. Dorado was excellent - a very strong but smooth IPA. Can't say anything bad about that - great way to start off an evening enjoying good beer. I really enjoyed Sculpin (amazing range of flavor...) when I tried it last week as well - even though their pale ale failed to impress, I'm definitely a fan of BP's IPAs now. The Smoked Porter vanilla bean was good but surprisingly restrained considering it's Stone. It's not too sweet, but tastes almost nothing like beer to me except for a faint alcoholic tang - it tastes more like drinking a splash of Bailey's in coffee. Very easy to drink compared to some Stone offerings, though it's definitely not a summer beer. I was just surprised to see they had it and I had wanted to try it anyway. Pizza Port's Flying Hawaiian that I tried was also good - I'm not very familiar with hefeweizen aside from the sixer of Sierra Nevada Kellerweis I grabbed a few weeks ago which I enjoyed very much. I liked this one but it didn't have the same intensity of banana and clove that Kellerweis had. Still a great refreshing drink at the end of the night, though.
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Aug 17, 2012 05:52
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The one DC Beer Week event I'm hitting  so excited, especially for that Boulevard/SN collab they had at SAVOR.http://smokeandbarreldc.com/sour-saturday
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Aug 17, 2012 15:01
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air- posted:The one DC Beer Week event I'm hitting i'd been eyeballing events up there, and that's the only one i seriously wanted to check out, but it's also the one day i absolutely cannot get up there. Richmond events- with one exception- have been pretty weak thus far.
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Aug 17, 2012 15:32
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funkybottoms posted:Got a Collaboration Time I (and Rising Tide Zephyr) from my trading friend today, but am much more excited about the Oxbow Barrel Aged Farmhouse Pale Ale- has anybody tried that one? Un-aged Farmhouse is really awesome. It's blowing up in Portland, I see it on tap pretty frequently.
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Aug 17, 2012 15:49
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Encryptic posted:even though their pale ale failed to impress, I'm definitely a fan of BP's IPAs now. Their "pale ale" is actually a Kolsch, and a rather good one too. The name "pale ale" seems to make people expect something different from what it actually is.
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Aug 18, 2012 03:23
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deadwing posted:Their "pale ale" is actually a Kolsch, and a rather good one too. The name "pale ale" seems to make people expect something different from what it actually is. Their Wahoo Wheat is actually a witbier too, which is actually probably closer to what people who order it are actually expecting. Not a huge fan of Dorado myself, though. Then again, I probably don't like it because I find it similar in flavor to Mongo, which I don't care for either. I'm actually going to Lost Abbey this week, which is interesting since I've never been there. // Random review; I went to Alpine Beer Co. for lunch and had Bourbon Barrel Aged Token Imperial Stout. I'm not sure what I was expecting but it was pretty thin and the barrel aged character was super light. I guess it was just very lightweight compared to Parabola. Angry Grimace fucked around with this message at 09:11 on Aug 18, 2012 |
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Aug 18, 2012 07:53
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Kosher man posted:I brew with Chico yeast as my main yeast. I have brewed loads with saison yeast, 5 different strains of Brett, and lacto. I have had no infections in the 3 years I have been doing it. I chalk it all up to steaming everything I use. On a similar note, Goose Island brews a bunch of beer using different strains of Brett - the amount of Matilda we've been brewing recently is just nuts - as well as a number of sours with pedio, lacto and the like. We don't pasteurize anything and we have a really low rate of infection and cross-contamination. We have a pretty strict sanitation and cleaning regimen, though, including a super-long nuclear CIP cycle on any tank that's touched Brett or sour bacteria. When you realize just what 170F caustic will do to anything organic, you stop worrying quite so much. Especially if you get that poo poo in your eye.
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Aug 18, 2012 08:44
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Angry Grimace posted:Random review; I went to Alpine Beer Co. for lunch and had Bourbon Barrel Aged Token Imperial Stout. I'm not sure what I was expecting but it was pretty thing and the barrel aged character was super light. I guess it was just very lightweight compared to Parabola. Unless their Facebook is inadvertently giving misleading hints, they're going to have Great on tap this weekend. I'm trying to get through a keg of homebrew to free one up, but they're cranking out some rare stuff this summer. Making it hard to justify drinking my own swill. Perhaps I can convince my wife to have dinner in the pub. Also, Lost Abbey will be hot as a bastard this weekend, great timing! Nothing like a warehouse with no A/C packed full of bros in the summer 
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Aug 18, 2012 09:05
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wattershed posted:Unless their Facebook is inadvertently giving misleading hints, they're going to have Great on tap this weekend. I'm trying to get through a keg of homebrew to free one up, but they're cranking out some rare stuff this summer. Making it hard to justify drinking my own swill. Perhaps I can convince my wife to have dinner in the pub. No kidding...I just graduated law school and my friends from LA are coincidentally in town so it was the only time we could make it work. We're gonna sweat it out, I suppose. I'm not really sure its going to be worse than my non-A/C'd house though.  Also, I went all the way out to Alpine and did not get any of their Super IPA collaboration with New Belgium because I don't know. Every time I go to Alpine I'm shocked at how small and ramshackle the place is. It's like a step above a bungalow. Angry Grimace fucked around with this message at 09:11 on Aug 18, 2012 |
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Aug 18, 2012 09:08
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The dichotomy between Alpine's reputation and the shoddy-ness of the physical appearance of their building is immense. I should film the place so people can get an idea of how this mysterious beer mecca is actually manifested as a tiny shop next to an old lady's used bookstore with a tasting room that holds, maybe, a half dozen customers before you're nuts to butts. The Super IPA is quality, no question about it, but I'd place Duet/Pure/Expo/Nelson above the collaboration. It's a testament to the large craft breweries that a shop like New Belgium is able to get Alpine's essence out to the masses.
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Aug 18, 2012 09:30
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I had a Nelson there that was miles above the same thing at O'Brien's the last week. Either it needs to be super fresh, the batches are inconsistent or my taste memory sucks, because the one I had today had a much more vibrant rye character to it. A really good example of Nelson is somewhere in my top 5 favorite beers. I've only even gone in the main building like twice, I usually just go over to the pub and get lunch + beer there. Maybe they need to buy out the old lady's used bookstore (plus sign that says, "open whenever I get here," and "leave money under door) to increase their space.
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Aug 18, 2012 10:11
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Angry Grimace posted:I had a Nelson there that was miles above the same thing at O'Brien's the last week. Either it needs to be super fresh, the batches are inconsistent or my taste memory sucks, because the one I had today had a much more vibrant rye character to it. A really good example of Nelson is somewhere in my top 5 favorite beers.
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Aug 18, 2012 14:33
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Speaking of beers that need to be fresh, has anyone had the Stone's Enjoy By IPA? It's coming to NJ this week so I'm pretty excited for that and the 16th Anniversary, though I'd heard that's straight up lemons.
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Aug 18, 2012 15:05
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Midorka posted:Speaking of beers that need to be fresh, has anyone had the Stone's Enjoy By IPA? It's coming to NJ this week so I'm pretty excited for that and the 16th Anniversary, though I'd heard that's straight up lemons. I just picked up two bottles of Stone's 16th, and I will probably end up drinking them either tonight, or tomorrow. I don't know why I still read reviews on BA, or RB, but gosh... some people are just utter imbeciles. People complaining about the 16th anniversary tasting like lemons should probably be slapped, what else could you possibly expect from a beer brewed with lemon verbena, and lemon oil? Any of you OH/Pittsburgh beer goons get to try Bumbleberry Ale by Fat Head's? It just started to get distributed in 6 packs, and I almost picked some up... but I had to grab a four pack of Head Hunter instead, it's just an IPA kinda weekend for me.
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Aug 18, 2012 17:00
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This Firestone Walker beer dinner sounds pretty badass, if absurdly expensive ($75 plus the old "convenience fees"). Vertical tasting of Anniversary beers starting as far back as XII and concluding with the first serving of this year's new XVI, presumably awesome food, and shooting the poo poo with the Firestone guys. I'd think about trying to go if I wasn't already breaking the bank going to GABF in the first place.
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Aug 18, 2012 17:13
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Black Butte XXIV made it to Vegas yesterday, so I'd guess it's out or has been in most of the country. If anyone's opened one to try it fresh, I'd be interested in opinions. One of the local bars got a keg they might tap next week, if so I'll do the review honors myself. XXI was one of my favorites for aging so my hopes are high.
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Aug 18, 2012 17:17
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Midorka posted:Speaking of beers that need to be fresh, has anyone had the Stone's Enjoy By IPA? It's coming to NJ this week so I'm pretty excited for that and the 16th Anniversary, though I'd heard that's straight up lemons. Where do you get info about when beers get in to NJ? I just moved to Glassboro and live right next to two decent beer shops (hops and grapes + monster bev) but neither of them have good enough twitter feeds. Also, sup South Jersey beer bro. Just got a Brux. Saving that and a Bruery Fruet for when a friend comes up in September.
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Aug 18, 2012 17:42
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Docjowles posted:This Firestone Walker beer dinner sounds pretty badass, if absurdly expensive ($75 plus the old "convenience fees"). Vertical tasting of Anniversary beers starting as far back as XII and concluding with the first serving of this year's new XVI, presumably awesome food, and shooting the poo poo with the Firestone guys. I'd think about trying to go if I wasn't already breaking the bank going to GABF in the first place. Oh what?! It's already time for XVI? Holy cow! Is there any information on the blend yet? jerkstores posted:Where do you get info about when beers get in to NJ? I just moved to Glassboro and live right next to two decent beer shops (hops and grapes + monster bev) but neither of them have good enough twitter feeds. Also, sup South Jersey beer bro.
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Aug 18, 2012 17:51
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Midorka posted:I think Glassboro is Hunterdon, at least for most craft beers, you call find out here. On the right they put a new list every week on what's coming out. Monster is a good place, but they have a lot of old stuff, I saw one of Great Divide's bomber IIPA that was at least 3 years old. Hops and Grapes is decent too. I recommend checking out the Canal's in West Deptford, Timber Creek Discount Liquors in Glendora, and Roger Wilco in Deptford. I've found gems at all of them and the Timber Creek still has Blackout Stout from last year. In the other direction there's Canals in Marlton and Wine Works in Marlton that have a nice selection. Total Wine in Cherry Hill has some ridiculous prices ($6.99 Sierra Nevada Pale Ale 6 packs) but the staff are wine snobs. Sounds like I need to make more money! Thanks for the recommendations and that website will be useful.
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Aug 18, 2012 17:56
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An errand resulted in me at the Woodman's in Kenosha. Picked up some WI brews. While checking out, the cashier pulled a bottle of Local Option/Central Waters Barrel Aged Le Petite Morte. Sold! Had this at LO but had no idea they bottled it. Radradradradrad.
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Aug 18, 2012 18:17
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I just got back from the Two Brothers brewery outside of Chicago in Warrenville, IL. The food was delicious and the beer was even better. I tried seven of their beers. Their Outlaw IPA is their first can offering. I thought it was a very solid IPA offering. Hoppy, with a malt flavor and a clean finish. This was a very drinkable beer and one I'd pick up if I was going to be doing some outdoor activity and don't want to worry about breaking glass. I tried their Red Eye Coffee Porter and it was sweeter than I expected it to be (but my experience with coffee porters is limited. It had a sweet toffee flavor to it and to me, was more of a dessert beer than one I'd drink with a meal. Ebel's Weiss was my favorite beer they offered. It is a hefeweizen that is extremely smooth and drinkable. Just delicious. It wasn't overly spiced like some hefes are; it was a sweet beer (not as sweet as the Red Eye) and had a slight malty flavor, with flavors of vanilla, banana, and a bit of clove. This was delicious and I picked up a sixer to take home to enjoy. At this point I was starting to get buzzed and the tour started. The Atom Smasher with a dry hop pour through(?) - not sure if that's the correct terminology, but from the tap it went through a container of dry hops for a malty front and a hoppy finish. It reminded me of apple juice. It had a crisp clean finish and was balanced and drinkable. Malty but not overly hoppy. Their coconut ale was not good at all. It was overly sweet and tasted like coconut syrup. It reminded me of a coconut drink you would get at Starbucks. It was not nearly as tasty as the Kona Toasted Coconut Brown Ale I had when in Florida. I'd give this one a pass. Domain Dupage was a malty front and a slight hop finish. It was very drinkable and was not heavy or filling. It had a clean taste throughout and would make a good beer to enjoy with company or if I know I'm going to be drinking all day. I thought this was a lot better than the Atom Smasher and while I thought they were similar, I'd recommend this one over the Atom Smasher. Finally, I finished off with the Cain & Ebel. This was a red rye ale, it was malty and creamy but not overly bitter while drinking. However, the finish was bitter and hoppy. It was enjoyable but not something I could drink a lot of. I definitely recommend going here if you're in the area and looking to kill a Saturday afternoon. The food and beer are both delicious and very reasonably priced. You could walk out taking yourself and a date for under $50, including a tour of the brewery and 3 free samples per person. Next I'd like to visit Half Acre, but I don't live in Chicago (northwest suburbs  )so I'll have to plan this trip out more than a couple weeks in advance.
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Aug 18, 2012 23:43
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